Small cars, big tech: 2013 Kia Soul Exclaim

[Note: This is the second in a series of blog posts about small cars with big technology. The kind of convenient, technology-based features once only found in expensive luxury cars have finally found their way into smaller, cheaper vehicles. While I’m not an automotive reviewer, I will write a bit about performance, comfort, fit and finish, but the emphasis here will be on the technology found in these inexpensive cars. The first installment focused on the2013 Prius C. Next up: the2013 Kia Soul. – D.S.]

Photo: Kia Motors

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Photo: Kia Motors

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The Soul Exclaim in Alien Green. I loathed this color, now I don't mind it.

The Soul Exclaim in Alien Green. I loathed this color, now I don't mind it.

The controls are well grouped and easy to access. Much of the action takes place in the center dash component.

The controls are well grouped and easy to access. Much of the action takes place in the center dash component.

Photo: Dwight Silverman / Houston Chronicle

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The UVO touchscreen

The UVO touchscreen

Photo: Kia Motors

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Another view of the center console.

Another view of the center console.

Photo: Dwight Silverman / Houston Chronicle

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You have to hit the Agree button every time you start the navigation system. Annoying.

You have to hit the Agree button every time you start the navigation system. Annoying.

Photo: Dwight Silverman / Houston Chronicle

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The setup screen for the UVO Infotainment system reminds me of the buttons in Windows 98.

The setup screen for the UVO Infotainment system reminds me of the buttons in Windows 98.

Photo: Dwight Silverman / Houston Chronicle

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The navigation system is easy to read, but hard to program via voice.

The navigation system is easy to read, but hard to program via voice.

Photo: Dwight Silverman / Houston Chronicle

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Front seating

Front seating

Photo: Kia Motors

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There's not much space in the back when the hatch is opened, but you can lower the rear seats for extra space.

There's not much space in the back when the hatch is opened, but you can lower the rear seats for extra space.

Photo: Dwight Silverman / Houston Chronicle

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Photo: Kia Motors

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Small cars, big tech: 2013 Kia Soul Exclaim

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When Kia introduced its boxy Soul in 2010, its unconventional design had already been drawing buzz for several years as a concept car. Like the Honda Element or Nissan Cube, it’s squared off in the back, but with a rounded, more organic look to the front.

The design can be polarizing. I love the look, even though I don’t particularly care for the Element or Cube. My wife, on the other hand, thinks it’s about as ugly as a car can get. Unfortunately, she may spend a lot of time looking at Soul, because there’s a very good chance this will be the vehicle that ultimately replaces my aging 2001 Ford Mustang.

For this review, Kia loaned me a 2013 Soul ! – pronounced “Exclaim”. It’s the top of the line, and there are two tiers below it: the Base and the Plus. The review car came in the unique Alien Green often shown in print and TV ads, but it’s one of my least favorite colors for the Soul. That said, I grew to like it more in the two weeks I drove it.

The Soul Exclaim comes with a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, gasoline engine that delivers 162 horsepower. The Base and Plus models have a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder gas engine with 138 horsepower. The Exclaim has a six-speed automatic transmission as standard, while the lower tiers have a manual six-speed transmission standard, and the automatic is an option.

The seats in the Exclaim I drove were covered in leather, an option, and the front seats are heated – not something you’d necessarily need in Houston. Cloth seats are standard through all three lines.

The model I drove had an optional power moonroof, standard power windows and locks and a self-dimming mirror with a built-in compass and HomeLink, which can be programmed to work with some garage door openers, automatic gates and home automation systems.

The Soul doesn’t get great gas mileage. It’s rated at 23 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on the road. I could never get to 23 around Houston – the best I could eke out was about 19 MPG, according to its onboard trip computer. However, it did better than its rating on the road. On a run up to Lake Conroe on Interstate 45, I averaged 30 MPG.

Performance was acceptable. It certainly didn’t have the kick of my 6-cylinder Mustang, which has 193 horsepower, but getting onto the freeway didn’t result in many anxious moments. It felt a big sluggish pulling away from stoplights, and I found myself giving it more gas than I would have wanted to at those moments.

My least favorite aspect of the Soul Exclaim was its ride. On less-than-glasslike roads its ride was choppy at best. On broken pavement, it felt like I was driving an aging pickup truck. Part of this may have to do with the tires. The Exclaim is equipped with with thin, low-profile tires that look cool but don’t provide as much cushion against the road as the fatter tires found on the Base and Plus. I’ve test-driven a Plus before, and while you can’t accuse it of having a cloudlike ride, it’s not nearly as rough as the Exclaim.

There was a bit of road noise at high speeds, which again may have to do with the tires, but wind noise was negligible. The Soul handled well and took corners with ease, but you can feel its boxiness on turns.

Visibility on the front and sides was excellent, but the rear pillars that cradle the Soul’s trademark, oversized tail lights were a bit of a blind spot. (By the way, the best place in Houston to test a car’s blind spot is where Waughcrest merges into Waugh, just north of Westheimer. It’s not for the faint of heart, particularly if your right-rear view is obstructed.)

The Soul’s target demographic is young, urban drivers, which is one reason why the car features lots of high-end technology. Most of the better gadgetry is available on the Plus and Exclaim models, though the Base has its share of goodies.

The model I drove came with Kia’s UVO Infotainment system, which uses Microsoft’s automotive tech in a 6-inch, center-mounted touchscreen. This screen controls the optional onboard navigation system, audio features, Bluetooth setup and some climate-control functions. The touchscreen isn’t as responsive as, say, an iOS or Android tablet or smartphone, but it’s noticeably better than the display found on the Prius C. If the Prius’ touchscreen was aggravating, this one is merely annoying.

The UVO’s Microsoft software is intuitive in some ways, and maddening in others. Its onscreen buttons and sliders look like leftovers from Windows 98, though the fonts are large and easy to reads. But controls aren’t always present when you’d expect them to be. For example, you have access to balance, fader, treble and bass controls in the FM and satellite radio screens, but not when you’re listening to music streamed from your phone via Bluetooth. If you want to to boost the bass, you have to switch to the radio screen to make the adjustment.

One nice aspect of UVO’s approach is that it doesn’t clear the screen of one function to handle another. For example, when you make an adjustment to the air conditioner, the top fourth of the display drops down to provide visual feedback.

The UVO also provides speech recognition, which can be used to select songs or program the navigation system. As is often the case with this feature in many cars, the results can be hit or miss, and usually the latter. In this case, there’s a bit of delay between the time you speak and when the system presents what it thinks you want. Often, the UVO gives you a list of possible words, which means making another selection by either voice or touch. By the time you get a destination programmed, you could easily have tapped it in manually.

As with a lot of navigation systems, you must tap Agree on a disclaimer every time you activate it. And some programming functions aren’t available unless the car is stopped.

The UVO also controls the Soul’s audio system, which is one of the vehicle’s best features. The high-end Infinity system has eight speakers and it sounds fantastic – it’s easily the best audio system I’ve heard in an inexpensive car. Even streamed Bluetooth audio has a rich, clear sound.

One funky feature: The speakers embedded in the front doors have lights around the rims that can either change colors slowly, or will pulse to the sound coming through the speakers. I thought this was wonderfully cheesy, and everyone who rode with me thought it was a hoot. My favorite moment: When I realized the lights were pulsing as my wife’s voice came through the speakers during a Bluetooth phone call.

You’ve got a lot of choices for music sources – classic AM and FM radio, Sirius XM satellite radio, CD, MP3 and Bluetooth. There’s an audio jack and a USB port, but oddly you can’t simply plug in an iPod or iPhone into that port. An adapter that includes the older, 30-pin iPhone/iPod plug is required. If you try to plug any iOS device directly into the port, you’ll get an error message on the touchscreen saying it’s not supported.

Unfortunately, the UVO system is missing one key feature found in other tech-heavy vehicles, including the Prius C – the ability to tether to a smartphone or tablet and pull in Internet data. This is handy for streaming music service Pandora or getting traffic updates, and can be used in some vehicles to have email and text read aloud to you. Sirius provides some traffic data that’s added to the navigation screen, but it’s not available in all cities. It didn’t appear to be active in Houston.

The Exclaim and Plus models have a remote starter feature available, as well as push-button starting. And although it wasn’t available on my review car, there’s an Eco feature that will turn the engine off at stoplights, then turn it back on again when you step on the gas.

For what it offers, the Kia Soul Exclaim is a good value. The loaded model I drove was priced at $24,575, with a starting price of $19,900. The Base starts at $14,400 and the Plus at $16,700.

Note that this is nearly the end of the model year for the 2013 Soul. The 2014 version of the car will be available in the fall, and some of the complaints I have about the car may be fixed with this new release.

The 2014 Soul has been redesigned, with a wider and longer wheelbase. The choppy ride reportedly has been addressed. The touchscreen has been beefed up to 8 inches, and an optional second LCD display is available. The Microsoft software has been replaced by an Android-based operating system, which reportedly is more intuitive and responsive. No word yet on pricing or availability, but Kia has marketed the Soul as being an affordable vehicle. That probably won’t change for 2014.

Dwight Silverman | Techblogger, social media manager

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